• “Deep” Practice, which includes daily repetition for up to several hours, observation, and corrective feedback by an expert to develop the myelin of “muscle memory” and increase neural signal strength, speed and accuracy.
This practice must be characterized by focused attention to mimic expert performance, reduce errors, and willingness to practice at increasingly more challenging levels.

• Ignition, or commitment based on “unconscious desires” and “triggered by primal cues”

This is always welcome and hopeful news. Practicing is certainly easier when the thing you’re practicing takes you to that “flow” state anyway. But even so, there’s a point when it becomes “work” and you just have to stick with it. Dad was telling me about a college ball player who’s coach saw he had “potential” so he challenged him to shoot 5,000 jump shots a week. That’s more than an normal amount. But that extra practice made the difference. When I was playing ball and working repeatedly on left-handed layups until I could make them, Dad used to tell me, “Your’e only as good as you’re willing to fail.” He meant you’ll only get good by persisting through all those missed “layups”. Thanks for the encouragement to practice. You’re in august company:)

Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your dad’s wise advice about pushing far enough to teeter on the edge of potential “failure” in order to develop skills to succeed more often. As Charlotte Bronte’s *Jane Eyre* advised: “Do what you ought, whether you want to or not.”